Introduction

Introduction to Amazon VPC

ℹ️ What is Amazon VPC?
Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (Amazon VPC) is a service that lets you provision a logically isolated section of the AWS Cloud where you can launch AWS resources in a virtual network that you define. This virtual network closely resembles a traditional network that you’d operate in your own data center, with the benefits of using the scalable infrastructure of AWS.

Key Capabilities

With Amazon VPC, you have complete control over your virtual networking environment, including:

  • Selection of your own IP address range
  • Creation of subnets
  • Configuration of route tables and network gateways
  • Implementation of both IPv4 and IPv6 for secure access to resources and applications

VPC Architecture Fundamentals

🔒 Security Note
Each VPC is logically isolated from other virtual networks in the AWS Cloud, providing a secure foundation for workloads running on AWS.

VPCs are region-specific resources, meaning you can create multiple VPCs within a single AWS Region. Each VPC is identified by its unique IP address range (CIDR block), such as 10.0.0.0/16. Once created, a VPC’s primary CIDR block cannot be changed.

VPC CIDR blocks can range from:

  • As large as /16 (65,536 IP addresses)
  • As small as /28 (16 IP addresses)

⚠️ Warning
VPC CIDR blocks must not overlap with any other connected networks, including on-premises networks if you’re planning to connect them.

VPC Evolution

Amazon VPC was introduced after Amazon EC2. For a period, AWS offered two networking platforms:

  • EC2-Classic: A single, flat network shared by all AWS customers
  • EC2-VPC: The current model with isolated virtual networks

As of December 2013, AWS exclusively supports EC2-VPC. Each AWS Region includes a default VPC with a default subnet using a CIDR block of 172.31.0.0/16.

💡 Pro Tip
While the default VPC is convenient for getting started quickly, creating custom VPCs allows for more precise network design and better security controls for production workloads.

Workshop Contents

  1. Subnets
  2. Route Table
  3. Internet Gateway
  4. NAT Gateway

In the following sections, we will explore these fundamental VPC components in detail, demonstrating how they work together to create secure, scalable network architectures in AWS.